The Survivalist
by Jasondude8
Summary: A mechanic turned mercenary/soldier struggles for survival on the unforgiving planet, E.D.N. III. How will he fare?
1. Prologue

The Survivalist

Disclaimer: Lost Planet is owned by Capcom. Not me.

I'm surprised how few Lost Planet fanfics there are on here. So I decided to make another. Hopefully it's good.

:D

* * *

My name is Benjamin Zosimo. I was a master mechanic and colonist on the SS Sahara from Planet Earth to E.D.N. III. Ironic right? The one thing they couldn't teach you about E.D.N. III,

was exactly how cold it was. Oh sure they _said_ it was cold, but you could never know just _how _cold until you got there. Basically, most of the time in the 32 year journey between the planets

was spent in cryostasis. So 32 years later, when I was thawed, my story of survival began...

* * *

Aaaaand that's the prologue. Well, I'll be updating this story shortly, and hopefully my other ones. Please leave some reviews for me, as they seem to fuel my inspiration. Constructive criticism

is appreciated, but you might want to save it for the actual chapters which will be _**MUCH**_ longer than the prolouge would show. Please note the extra emphasis on the MUCH there. Thank you,

and remember to review!


	2. Chapter 1: Awakening

Well hello. Sorry, I made some minor changes on the prologue, so excuse me.

Anyways, on to the second chapter!

* * *

"Holy Crap!" were the first words out of my mouth.

The crew started laughing their asses off.

I glared at them, but quickly put the anger behind me. Couldn't let my anger get the best of me. After all, this was my first time in cryo. I just hadn't expected to feel so

damn cold after getting thawed. The crew finally stopped laughing long enough to thaw the remaining passengers, some of which had been in cryo before, but still

weren't used to the bitter cold feeling after getting thawed.

"Rise and shine buttercup!" said one of the crew to a woman who had just awoken.

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, due to me walking to the locker room to retrieve my clothes and hopefully warm up just a tad, but I did hear a cry of pain a few seconds later.

Upon entering the locker room, I struggled for a second to remember my locker number and the password.

_"#6032... or was it 5032?" _I decided to try the latter, since I was closest to it anyway. I walked on over.

"Welcome. What is your password?" the display read.

"Apple pie." I typed.

"Access Granted." the display flashed, before the locker popped open.

I retrieved my shirt and put it on, and the same with the rest of my clothes. Just as I finished putting on my boots, the rest of the passengers in my cryo room came in to get dressed.

I left the room only to run into the captain.

"Woah. Easy there young'n." He said, as I walked into him.

"Oh, sorry!" I said. I started to go around him, but he put up a hand to stop me.

"Ya sure are quick at getting dressed. However, them clothes won't help you much out on E.D.N. III unless you plan on feeding the Akrid son." he said.

"Akrid..." my mind flashed back to the vids they showed us back on earth, about the great alien menace, the Akrid.

"Youse gonna need something more stable see? So I was about to tell all them passengers to head to the armory where we store the thermal suits. Since ya dressed so fast,

ya get first pick, but ya'd better hurry before the rest o' the people join ya and take all the suits that fit ya." he joked.

"Thank you." I said.

"Down the hall, take yer first left then follow the signs." he said.

"Thank you." I repeated.

"And don't forget to pick up one o' them themal energy canisters."

"Alright." I said, while mentally screaming, _"I GET IT ALREADY!"_

"We're landin in 20 minutes so get a move on too!" he finished.

I walked down the hall, took the first left, and started following the signs that said "Armory" on them. Contrary to the name, there were no weapons in this room.

I walked over to the wall and picked a suit. It was black, but had these markings on it that were supposedly for something called thermal energy to pass through the

suit and warm the body slightly. However, these suits didn't keep the cold out much, just kept heat in, creating the need for jackets and hats and all that stuff.

I put the suit on, which fit me just right. Not too loose, Not too tight. I then turned around and picked out a thermal energy canister. There were many variants,

but I decided to pick out one that was slung behind you and out of the way. Connected to the side of the slot where it was was a PDA, so I grabbed that too.

Just in time too, because the few people that had joined me was turning into a lot of people. The air in the ship was also getting noticeably colder.

Over the intercom, the captain said, "People, we are now docking. Head to the airlock to exit the ship when you are ready.

There was a bump, and we were down. I headed off to the airlock. The captain was there, all dressed up.

"First again eh young'n?" the captain joked.

"I guess so." I replied.

We just sat there for a few minutes while everyone else entered the airlock.

"Okay people, brace yerselves." the captain said.

He twisted the wheel to unlock the door, then pushed it open. The first thing I noticed was that my exposed cheeks almost immediately felt cold. Then I couldn't feel it anymore. I took a few steps

forward into the bright light of the sun.

* * *

Well, that's a wrap for the first chapter! I hope you liked it, if not a lot, just a little...

Anyway, next chapter: Arrival, will be coming out soon! stay tuned, and remember to review!


	3. Chapter 2: Arrival

MAAAAN it's been a while... I should've updated this and my other stories over the summer. But I got lazy. You know how it goes. I kind of lost inspiration for a while, but now I'm ready to continue all my stories if possible.

Story notes: I have forgot to mention, this story's time frame starts about... oh say, 5 or so years before Wayne is found by Luka, Yuri & Rick. However, this isn't one of those fics that go, "Hello main character! May I join you?" Wayne's storyline will be going on once

you see a certain 3 words, followed by three dots. (X years later...) Thus, Ben will more than likely hear about Wayne's accomplishments at some point, though he maybe might witness one himself.

For those of you wondering where the action in this story is, no worries. The chapters before were all backstory. This chapter will be story, and there will be action in the next chapter. On my honor, I so promise.

Also:

"Speech"

_"Thought"_

Needed to establish that.

On with the story again finally!

* * *

Chapter 2: Arrival

There was snow everywhere. Though the sun was shining right on me, it didn't seem to offer any warmth. The cold wind was cutting straight through some of my jacket and suit. The people behind me started going around me, so I hurried down the ramp.

"Colonists! Over here!" Someone yelled. I made my way over till he was visible. I saw some guy wearing a T-Eng backpack. However, on that backpack was labeled, NEVEC.

"Colonists! Come on! Get your thermal energy before you freeze!" he yelled. There was some big canister next to him. He directed me to a line of people, which moved rather swiftly. Someone grabbed my canister, so I started to turn.

"Hold still. I'm filling your canister." the gruff voice of a NEVEC guy said.

"Thanks." I said back. Though I couldn't see his face behind his helmet, I felt his smile.

"Thanks for the thanks. It's not often we get one of those." he said, and he patted my canister. "You're all set, so get going. Keep an eye on those levels. If they get low, there are some places you can stock up again, for a fee."

"Thank you." I said. Once again, I felt his invisible smile.

I began wandering through the small city. There wasn't really much to see, but it was heavily guarded by NEVEC, for protection against the Akrid I guessed. However, to my wandering eye, they were mostly unorganized except at the southernmost outpost. There I

saw multiple officers and higher ranked military personnel, although I was barred from going very far. As I began to get bored, I decided to try and find my uncle. Uncle Bob had come to E.D.N. III beforehand, leaving earth at age 25, meaning he was 60 now. Only

because of Uncle Bob was I able to even dream of coming to E.D.N. III, and 3 years after he left, when I turned 17, I was able to go myself. Since this was a small city, most people should know him, as he was an inventor. I went back north to the general store,

figuring that Uncle Bob would have had to go there eventually.

"Welcome!" the owner said as I walked in. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for information." I said. "Do you know where I can find Bob?"

"Bob? The inventor? You really don't know where he is?" The owner said, giving me a questioning look.

"New colonist." I explained.

"Oh I see." He said "Yes, I have that information. However, if you want it, it's going to cost you a little."

I eyed him questioningly.

"Nothing is free on this planet." He explained.

I grimaced, and slid two bucks onto the counter.

He frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment, before deciding that it was enough cash.

"Well, OK. I'm being nicer than usual today for some reason. Head east to Sharp street, make a right, head south to Oskar drive, make a left and he lives in the third building on the left side." He said.

"Thanks." I said.

"Don't mention it. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to see him?" the owner asked.

"He is my uncle." I explained.

"Oho! So you're the one he was talking about! Benjamin Zosimo!" The owner exclaimed.

"Err... yeah." I said, wondering what my crazy uncle might have said about me.

"I think I know where you can get a job here." He said. "You're a VS mechanic right?"

"Well... Kind of... more like a general mechanic, but yeah, I can fix those up pretty well." I said.

"Well, my friend Josh across the street is a VS mechanic too. He's been needing some extra help, after one of his mechanics froze to death. You should go talk to him." the owner explained.

"Well that's good to know. Thank you sir!" I said.

"See you later Ben. And please, call me Chris." The owner said.

I exited the store, excited about the possibilities. But first, I HAD to go see Uncle Bob. He had bought me a house while I was on my way.

I headed east, following Chris's directions. Upon reaching Oskar drive and turning left, I counted three buildings down. Walking to the door, I pushed the doorbell.

The door flew open, and I found myself face to face with the barrel of a shotgun.

"Dammit, how many times do I gotta say it? No soliciting!" Said a very angry Uncle Bob.

"U-Uncle Bob, it's me! Ben!" I said nervously.

"Wait Ben? Ben! Sorry about that. Come in, come in." He said, putting the shotgun away. "I didn't recognize you."

"It's okay Uncle Bob." I said.

He led me downstairs, to his lab.

"I've been working on something. It might come in handy to you at some point. If you ever need to work on a VS, you can use this special grappling hook I made." He said, handing me said item.

"Err... thanks, but-" I started.

"No thanks needed. It is much longer than other comparable grappling hooks, and can hold more weight. Use it to dangle from the ceiling for precision jobs." He said.

"If you say so." I said, attaching said item to my belt.

"Good good." He said. "Here's your key. If you need anything at all, don't be afraid to drop by."

"Ok Uncle Bob." I said, leaving.

Shutting the door behind me, I noticed it was becoming dark, as the sun set. I walked to my house, and fumbling with my keys, heard people running.

_"What the?" _I thought.

Turning around, I saw a whole squad of NEVEC sprinting as fast as they could towards the northern gate. In the distance, I could hear the distinct sound of machine guns going off, and screams of dying men.

My more compassionate side, that I despised so much sometimes, would not let me ignore it. I started to follow the NEVEC squad, hoping to help however I could.

* * *

And that's that. Once again, I am sorry for this six month wait, I know I kept some of you waiting. Please Read and Review. Tell me what you think. Suggestions? I'm game. Criticism? Okay. Flames? Please not. Keep your reviews either constructive or supporting.

I do not mind negative comments if it helps improve my skills.

Chapter 3: Akrid, will be out soon. And by soon, I seriously mean, WITHOUT a six month wait.

Goodbye, Sayōnara, Adiós, Adieu, and any other languages you can think of.

See Ya!


	4. Chapter 3: Akrid

Although the wait was a bit longer than I had hoped, I promised not to leave you hanging for six months. Just been busy prepping for semester exams.

This chapter has action! Yaaaay! Ben gets his first taste of fighting! How will it go?

* * *

Chapter 3: Akrid

The NEVEC squad rounded the corner, and I followed to a shocking scene. Several men were either dead or dying in the snow, and there were guns going off all over the place. Of the many yells I heard over the massive amounts of gunfire and explosions,

a few were;

"Grenade out!"

"I need ammo!"

"AAGH! MEDIC!"

"VS down, VS down!"

"Look out!"

I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do.

"Civilian! Get your ass outta here now!" someone called out to me. I oriented on that voice, slamming into the metal barricade next to him.

"What the hell are you doing, get outta here right now!" he yelled at me, firing over the barricade at the approaching Akrid.

"I want to help!" I yelled back.

"Shit." he said. "We barely have enough ammo for just us! We cannot afford to have an untrained civilian wasting what we do have!"

"Nothing fancy," I said. "Just give me something that you've got the most ammo for!"

"Since it doesn't look like I can change your mind," He said, handing me his pistol, "Take my handgun and aim for the glowing spots. Small clip, pretty ineffective, but we NEVER seem to run out of ammo. Reloading."

I accepted the pistol, cocked it, and began firing at the approaching Akrid as well. After ten shots the gun clicked instead of banged, and I had to reload. Two more VS's exploded.

"We're pushing them back! Keep firing men!" someone yelled.

I looked. Indeed, there seemed to be less Akrid than before, but that seemed pretty strange. They had been numerous seconds before...

The snow flew into the air right behind me, knocking me to the ground while a praying mantis like akrid emerging from the ground. This one was much taller that the ones I had been shooting at moments before, towering over the surrounding buildings.

The glowing spots seemed to be covered by some type of armor. It was obvious to me that my pistol was not going to cut it. The machine gun fire from a dozen NEVEC was simply bouncing off. It was then that another one rose through the snow.

"H-Holy shit... Holy shit!" the guy who I had been firing with before was now backing away, spraying and praying with his machine gun instead of aiming down his sights. A huge leg swept by and he was gone, flying through the air, gun falling from his hands.

As I crawled away behind the nearby NEVEC, who were pulling out some rocket launchers, he landed nearby on his head with a thud. He didn't move. I crawled over and grabbed his machine gun, stood up, and started firing, right as a rocket exploded on the armor.

The akrid screeched in pain as the armor fell off, exposing the vulnerable glowing sack that was now becoming riddled with bullets. Another rocket exploded and it's leg came off, before it suddenly screeched, fell to the ground, and froze, literally.

There was no time to celebrate however. Another rocket exploded behind me, and as I turned, I noticed a fast moving object coming from my left. I started to dodge, but was a split second too late. The other akrid's leg hit me, I felt my ribs break, and I was flying

through the air. For several seconds, I was flipping, feeling the cold wind rush by, before I landed on my chest, feeling excruciating pain jab into my brain. As the pain began to clear from my mind, I noticed I was sliding on ice. That wasn't the bad part.

The bad part was that I was headed for a cliff. I tried with all my might to stop myself from going over, but it was in vain. I fell. In a last effort, I felt my hand brush over the grappling hook Uncle Bob had given me. I pressed the button, the hook shot out.

Somehow that hook managed to catch on the top of the cliff, stopping the deadly fall. Regardless, the jolt of stopping caused even more pain in my chest. As I recovered, the momentum I still had slammed me into the cliff wall, and I felt my legs break this time.

I must have slipped out of consciousness then, because I noticed that the sun had disappeared from the horizon, and the moon was all of a sudden in the middle of the sky, instead of at the other horizon. Taking a breath, I coughed, blood coming out of my mouth.

It was quite difficult to breathe, and my chest was in a lot of pain. My thermal energy was also out. I somehow managed to hit the button on the grappling hook, and was drawn smoothly upwards. Very slowly, I dragged myself painfully back to the top of the cliff,

before passing out.

* * *

And that's that. Ben did not have a good time here. He broke his ribs, his legs, his lungs are filling with blood, and he's lying on a cliff side in sub zero temperatures with no thermal energy. Will he live? And if so, will he ever recover?

Of course. I wouldn't end his career right here would I?

Please Review. It gives me motivation to hear back from you, as well as letting me know what i'm doing okay and what I can improve on. (Also lets me know that people are actually reading this stuff.)

I do not mind negative comments if it helps improve my skills.

Chapter 4 will be out soon. I do not have a name for it yet, but it most likely is going to be recovery.

See ya soon!


	5. Chapter 4: Recovery

Hey people! Sorry for the wait... It seems that I've been saying that more and more lately... anyways, no worries, I am not canceling any of my stories, just in case any of you were beginning to wonder... unless, you know, I die or something like that, but i'm not planning on doing that anytime soon. On a side note, I've graduated from HS! Plus, I'm feeling more inclined to write now! I'm trying to step away from video games to get more into this again. This chapter could have been done much sooner, as I had everything planned out. The only problem? Writer's block. I knew what I wanted to do, but not how to phrase it in a story. Thankfully, I finished this chapter, and should have the next up sometime soon, as this chapter that I had planned out actually would go better as two. Thus, some of the next chapter is already planned out (Yay!).

* * *

Chapter 4: Recovery

I groaned, my head pounding. I was lying somewhere... soft. I opened my eyes for a split second, but the light was just bright enough that I decided it was a good idea to close them again for a while. The temperature wasn't warm,

but it definitely wasn't outside temperature either.

_"Where the heck am I? Ohhh... My head..." _I thought.

There was a steady beeping noise in the background that seemed extremely loud. Upon opening my eyes again, they fell on a heartbeat monitor for a split second before the room started spinning. I immediately became quite

nauseous, and closed my eyes again before it could get worse. After my nausea calmed down some, I opened my eyes again and sat up. This time, my nausea did not worsen, nor was the room spinning, and I was finally able to look

around. It appeared that I was in some kind of hospital or medical area, as evidenced by all of the medical equipment around. I noticed several empty thermal energy tanks in the room, as well as one with energy in it, which had a

tube leading to a device on my left arm. This confused me greatly, but I assumed it was some kind of medical tool. Around me were numerous other beds, most of which were empty. I was on a bed by the door. As I began to

wonder where I had ended up and what had happened, the door opened.

"Oh." came a voice. "You're up eh?"

I turned. Before me stood a woman in her mid 30's.

"About time... You've been using up too much thermal energy, especially after your uncle installed that device on your arm... I'm surprised we didn't just put you out of your misery." She said.

"Wait..." I replied. "Uncle Bob is here?"

The door opened, revealing Uncle Bob before she could reply.

"Ben!" he yelled, furiously. "What in God's name were you doing out there fighting the Akrid! You almost got yourself killed! Why if I hadn't found you, you'd be a frozen chunk of ice out there!"

"I can't help that I wanted to help!" I said. "If you knew what I felt, you'd have done the same thing!"

"That's what NEVEC was for! They were there to stop attacks!" he yelled right back.

"Would you two CAN IT? You do realize that we are in a medical bay correct?" The woman said.

Bob quietly cursed, before speaking again, in an inside voice.

"Okay. Ben, what were you doing out there?" He asked.

"I really just wanted to help." I replied. "When I heard all the gunfire, something just went through my mind, and I felt like I should be helping."

The room was silent for a moment, and Uncle Bob started helping me take off the medical equipment.

"What happened?" I asked.

Bob was silent for a moment, thinking on how to respond while we finished with the medical equipment. I noted, however, that the device on my arm remained.

"... The town got overrun." he replied. "Though NEVEC fought, the cowards fled when more Akrid showed up. Only a few stayed, helping people, but the town is pretty much deserted now. I barely had time to get anything of mine."

"I knew that those NEVEC scum were no good." The woman said. "My name's Jenny Sullivan, specialized medic for the recon team. You were pretty banged up when you got here Ben."

"When I found you," Bob said, "you were pretty much dead. Several broken bones, no thermal energy, starting to freeze solid. It's a miracle you survived long enough that I found you."

"Bob brought you here, and you were in a coma for about a week and a half." Jenny said. "After that time, your vitals started failing before Bob installed that device. What did you call it again?"

"A harmonizer." Bob said. "Granted, it's not nearly as advanced as this one I worked on with Gale, but it's more customizable, and now I know it works. Just... not as well as i'd hoped."

"You're right about that old man." Jenny said. "This guy better be able to get back all the thermal energy we used on him."

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," explained Bob, "a harmonizer uses thermal energy to accelerate the recovery of whomever it is installed on. On the model I worked on with Gale, it used a reletively small amount of energy to heal the person within the span

of about 15 seconds. However, the one I installed on you took about 10 minutes..."

"In that 10 minutes," Jenny cut in, "you used up approximately 20,000 units of thermal energy, averaging 2000 a minute. As a result, it is your responsibility to get us more. Kid, you are lucky our mercenary group is so kind."

"20,000 units! That's... insane..." I said, thinking of all the other things that it could have been used for.

"I agree." Bob said. "I was hoping it would take a lot less, but at the rate this harmonizer uses energy, it's going to need some major customizations to reduce the amount used while maintaining the same functionality."

"Is it... still using energy now?" I asked.

"Yes," Bob said, "at an extremely reduced rate, although I would bet it's still using it up pretty quickly.

"Then shouldn't we take it off? I mean, I'm all better now right?" I suggested.

"You don't understand." Bob said. "Those things have to be surgically installed to your arm, otherwise they don't work properly. There is no way to get it off of you now, short of killing you and cutting your arm off, and even then..."

"So... Let me get this straight... I have to live with this thing on my arm for the rest of my life?" I asked.

"Sorry kiddo, you're right." Bob replied. "On the bright side, you're going to have a hard time dying now."

"On the bad side," Jenny said, "Any jobs you take are more than likely going to be suicide missions."

"Not helping..." Bob said to her.

"Okay..." I said. "Let me sleep on this. I'm pretty exhausted."

"Get some rest." Bob said. He left the room.

Jenny looked like she was going to say something, but her radio went off, and with a brief "Excuse me." she also left the room.

I laid my head back down, thinking on the whole situation. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

* * *

Well, I hope this chapter was good. It was mostly dialogue, but I can only write so much per chapter, and endless action is usually not good. Most likely more action next chapter. Review, favorite, alert, or whatever. Remember, more reviews = more inspiration, which equals more effort at a faster next chapter. Remember, I don't mind negative reviews, but only if they are constructive. If you have something to suggest, don't hold back. If you don't feel comfortable suggesting something in a review, feel free to PM me.

Thanks for reading!

See ya soon!


	6. Chapter 5: Growing Pains

Accursed college, making me lose inspiration... on the other side though, I feel as if my writing style has improved some... Long wait, I know, and I'm sorry. But I can't promise any fast updates at this point. I've been really procrastinating on everything lately, including my stories. I won't abandon them, but I have a feeling that these long waits are probably going to become normal... I feel disappointed in myself for having put this off for so long. This chapter comes in at over 1,500 words on 4 pages.

On a side note, Ben's harmonizer will never be quite as effective as Wayne's at healing him. Depending on what I decide, it may, however, have some functions that Wayne's did not.

Onwards to chapter 5!

* * *

Chapter 5: Growing Pains

I opened my eyes about thirty minutes later, not very much sleep time, but then again, my week and a half coma might have had something to do with that. I decided to lay there for a little bit longer, enjoying the comparatively warm air in the med bay as compared to the temperatures outside and thinking back on what I was told the day before.

_"What have I gotten myself into? I nearly died just because I did something stupid again."_ I thought._ "And now I owe these mercenaries 20,000 units thanks to this blasted thing." _

I thought about smacking the harmonizer onto the side of the bed, to vent my frustration, and probably would have gone through with it too, if it weren't for the sudden searing pains across my entire body. Startled, I froze. The pains weren't very intense at the moment; they almost felt like I had a sunburn on my entire body, but they were definitely noticeable. After about a minute, the pains disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving me in a bewildered state in the med bay.

_"What the heck was that?" _I wondered. _"I didn't have these weird pains before... do they have something to do with the harmonizer, or are they just residual effects from me nearly dying?" _Deciding to play it safe, I got up to look for Uncle Bob. Exiting the med bay, I made a right in the hallway, then a left at the next one. Striding boldly forward with purpose in my step, I didn't pay attention to where I was going, nor did I pay any attention to the people I passed until about five minutes later, when I suddenly realized that I had absolutely no clue as to where I was going. This place was a labyrinth, designed for the sole purpose of discombobulating the unwary intruder while the ordinary inhabitants knew it like the backs of their hands; a great tactical advantage, were this place ever to be attacked. Turning around, I realized that I was completely lost.

_"Umm... did I take the right or left path? Or was it the one straight ahead?" _I thought. _"Dang it, I never should have left the med bay... there I go, doing something stupid AGAIN..." _I thought about asking one of the people around, but their hostile glares when I tried to approach quickly deterred me from that notion. Walking around aimlessly, the searing pains suddenly returned, in greater force than before. This time, they were enough to draw a hiss of pain from me, much to the confusion of those around me. The pain felt like I was getting drenched in too hot of water as opposed to the sunburn feeling from before.

_"If these pains are getting worse over time, I need to find Uncle Bob as soon as possible." _I thought. Still, with no clue as to where I was, nor any clue as to where I was going, while in a place where the people seemed more deadly and hostile than the akrid themselves, my chances of finding him anytime soon were pretty much zero.

"Ben?" someone said from behind me.

It seemed that lady luck had finally decided to give me a bit of a break, as I turned around to see Jenny standing there, a confused and slightly suspicious expression on her face. She was holding her radio off to the side, as if she had just been talking with somebody.

"I thought you were sleeping. What are you doing out here?" she asked, eyes narrow and suspicious.

I was confused by the suspicion for a moment, before I suddenly understood. I was supposed to be sleeping, and yet here I was wandering the hallways of a mercenary base. For all Jenny knew, the whole accident could have been staged by a rival group to weaken this one, and I could be a spy.

"I wasn't very tired apparently" I said carefully. "As for why I'm wandering around, I need to find Uncle Bob as soon as possible. It's urgent."

"I suppose I'll lead the way then." Jenny sighed. "You know, you were about to wander into a restricted area where you'd have been shot on sight." she added.

This piqued my curiosity, so I decided to see what kind of information I could get about it without appearing too suspicious.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of stuff is in that area that you can tell me about?" I asked.

"You know," Jenny said, "with you asking about it, as well as wandering the halls, I could almost bet you were a spy."

"I'm just curious since you mentioned it." I said. "You don't have to go into any specifics or a great amount of detail."

Jenny sighed, making a left, then a right, before saying, "In vague terms, it has to do with VS research."

I decided that that was all the info I was getting about the subject, so I decided to simply shut up and follow Jenny to Uncle Bob. She continued on her way, making a right here, a left there, and sometimes making three lefts and rights in a row, which made little sense to me, but I followed anyways, trusting her lead. As we passed through an area that looked rather similar to a market, the searing pains suddenly returned, feeling for the world like I had suddenly caught fire. I winced loudly, catching the attention of Jenny, who turned around in time to catch me as my vision faded slightly and my knees failed to support my weight.

"Hey now, are you okay?" Jenny asked, a look of worry on her face now.

I briefly considered saying yes, simply to get going again, but decided instead to be truthful.

"No. I need to see Uncle Bob immediately, maybe he'll know what's going on." I stated.

"Not until you tell me what's happening." She said.

My vision returned to normal as the pains faded, though a dull ache remained, and I forced myself to stand up, before saying, "I'll tell you later Jenny, right now, I don't think I'll survive another one."

She seemed dissatisfied for a moment before seeming to accept it, wordlessly leading the way again. Thankfully, we didn't have much farther to go. she opened a door, revealing Uncle Bob standing there talking with another man about something. Upon hearing the door open, Uncle Bob turned around to face us, obviously surprised.

"Ben? I thought you were sleeping?" he said.

"Uncle, this is serious." I started. "I'm feeling intense pain across my body. We were walking across the market, and it felt like I caught fire."

Uncle Bob's eyes widened. "Already? But it's only been about thirty minutes! Ben come here right now!" he ordered.

I complied, presenting my harmonizer burdened left arm to him. He took a small thermal energy canister from his belt, inserting the tip into a slot in my harmonizer. The thermal energy drained from the canister, and my harmonizer started glowing immediately. I felt a soothingly cool sensation slide up my arm into my body, as the dull pain that had been present since the market faded.

Uncle Bob frowned. "This is not good. That thing needs to be modified soon. If it's doing that so quickly..." he muttered.

"Sorry to interrupt your monologue uncle, but what exactly is going on?" I quipped.

"Jason, I must go right now to help Ben modify his harmonizer. Otherwise there'll be no way he can get your energy back to you. Our chat can wait I hope." Bob said.

"Most certainly Bob. We can't have him unfit for missions now can we?" the other man in the room, now identified as Jason, said.

Uncle Bob frowned, but nonetheless thanked Jason for his time before hauling me out of the room, Jenny following closely. I couldn't help but feel like my life was about to get a whole lot harder.

If only I knew how right I was.

* * *

I'm trying hard, and have a base thought for the next chapter. It's been so long since I've updated any of my stories, but it feels good to finally do so again. I suppose the next chapter title will be Chapter 6: Modifications. Look forward to seeing Ben modify his harmonizer, and I plan to get him into a mission soon. Until next time, and I hope that will be soon, Adios!


	7. Chapter 6: Modifications

8 months! 8 months since my last update! I swear, I need to kick myself in the rear to do this stuff. No more messing around, I'm gonna set an alarm on my phone to work on my stories at least once a week. I actually started writing this long ago, but naturally got lazy and caught up doing other unimportant stuff...

I'll not ramble on about things that don't really matter that much. Let's get back to the story before I get too lazy to continue AGAIN...

* * *

Chapter 6: Modifications

"So what was all of that about Ben?" Jenny queried as we wandered through the various hallways in the base.

"Hmm? Oh right, I did say I'd explain..." I said. "After you left me in the med bay, I slept for a bit, then woke up to searing pains across my body. I assumed that it was better to be safe than sorry, so I went looking for Uncle Bob. Of course, I don't know this place yet, so I ended up getting lost instead."

"I see." she said, a curious look on her face. "That explains your wandering around where you weren't supposed to be."

I smiled sheepishly before returning my attention to our surroundings, and was surprised when I found myself recognizing where I was. This was the same hallway that Jenny had found me wandering around in, near the restricted VS research area. Jenny strode quickly to the front, stopping Uncle Bob and I in our tracks.

"Bob, where do you think you're going?" Jenny said. "This area is restricted, and unless you've got clearance, which I'm sure you and Ben both don't, you can't go in."

Uncle Bob grinned, pulling out a new looking ID card and handing it to Jenny wordlessly. After inspecting it for a moment, her mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"W-where did you get this type of clearance Bob?" She sputtered out.

"Let's just say that Jason and I go way back." Bob said.

Any lower and Jenny's jaw could've hit the ground.

"Trying to catch a fly there Jenny?" Bob asked.

She closed her mouth and shook her head.

"Okay, fine. You can go in. Don't cause trouble." She said somewhat tersely. Uncle Bob motioned for me to follow, and as we walked through the door, I could've sworn I heard Jenny muttering to herself something along the lines of "Stuck guarding the door..." Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I tapped Bob on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hmm? What's wrong Ben?" Bob asked.

"What do you mean about you and Jason going way back?" I queried. "I've never heard of him from you, and normally you're all about introducing new friends."

Uncle Bob pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to come up with an answer, something that to those who knew him meant he was hiding something. "I'll not talk about that right now Ben." he said.

Another thing members of the family knew about Bob was that if he didn't want to say something, he wasn't going to say it, and it was best to just shut your mouth and let him tell you when he felt he could. I followed that policy and shut my mouth, electing instead to take in the sights around me. There were several people examining and banging on different parts of a VS, students by the look of them. A sudden, but brief glare on a ledge off to my right caught my attention, and though I couldn't see anything or anyone there upon closer inspection, it served to remind me that there were indeed armed guards around. The temperature was cool, though not uncomfortably so, and it smelled a bit of oil and sweat. It seemed that this place was for more than just VS research, it was for VS design and development as well. It wasn't long before Bob led me through a door into a medium sized room with a workbench on the wall and a small office desk in the corner, complete with computer, paper, and plenty of pencils.

"This is where you'll be modifying your harmonizer from now on Ben." Uncle Bob said as he handed me an ID card similar to his own. "I can't be there every time to help you out, so remember to hold on to your ID. Don't lose it."

"Modifying my Harmonizer?" I asked. "Do you mean like adding or taking away parts to improve it's function?"

"Exactly that." Bob said. "I had Jason get his guys to work on researching ways to improve it's thermal energy consumption rate, as I knew it wouldn't be the most efficient. I must admit though that I wasn't expecting it to be quite THAT inefficient. Let's see if they've come up with anything yet."

Uncle Bob grabbed the mouse and clicked his emails, examining one for a short time before nodding. "Okay Ben, I'm going to walk you through step by step for this one. You need to do it though since that harmonizer's going to be with you for the rest of your life. You need to know how to take care of it, how it works, what parts you can and cannot remove if you're taking it apart. First things first, grab a screwdriver, and remove the basic access hatch on the underside of your arm."

I followed Bob's instructions, revealing quite the work of science as I did so. The innards of this harmonizer were the most complex thing I had ever seen, perhaps even more so than some of the VS's I had worked on in the past. Bob came over to examine the innards, pointing to parts that I should never, under any circumstances remove, or risk the harmonizer exploding, taking me with it. Handing me a small part, he pointed to a specific point near my elbow where it would likely fit, and told me to do it quickly. I disconnected the tube there, connected it to the small part, and connected the other end of the part to where the tube had been connected. The harmonizer briefly glowed blue, before settling back into it's colorless appearance. Uncle Bob then instructed me to close it up, which I did, the part sliding into place like it had been meant to be there in the first place.

"Okay!" Uncle Bob said. "If the calculations are correct, then you should have at least an hour or two before you should fill that harmonizer back up from now on. I recommend carrying a few cans of thermal energy on you just in case."

"And just in time too." a familiar voice stated. Turning around, we saw none other than Jason standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face. "Would've hated to have to send you on your first mission to fail in thirty minutes or less." he said.

"Mission?" I said, confused for a second before realization hit me. "You mean to get thermal energy?"

"Indeed. The time has come for you to start paying back your debt. Your uncle and I may be close acquaintances, but don't expect me to let you off the hook for a single unit of energy. We have a reconnaissance force within the abandoned city of Johannesburg who claim to have seen a group of snow pirates transporting large containers of thermal energy. They estimate it to be about 10,000 units worth or so." Jason said. "No, that's not half your debt, as the amount credited for retrieval is split between the number of members retrieving it. In this case, 4 recon members, and you. I want you to assist them in retrieving that thermal energy. Succeed, and that's 2000 units off your debt if it is indeed 10,000 units worth."

"But I'm not a soldier!" I protested. "You know how I came in here, I was almost dead from a single hit!"

Jason gave me a knowing look. "Listen Ben, on this planet, you either fight or you die. Everyone is a soldier here, whether they want to be one or not. Not to mention, regardless of your skill level, that harmonizer makes you a valuable asset." Jason said. "Try to come back alive. Don't make me regret my investment in you."

Before I could respond, Jason spun around on his heel and vanished into the winding hallways of the base. I looked at Uncle Bob, who simply nodded his head sadly.

_"What have I gotten myself into?" _I thought, dreading the days to come.

* * *

Well, I've done it. Every friday, my alarm is going to yell at me until I start writing. Remember to review guys, I feel like I need to treat you all to a super long chapter for making you wait so much. What do you guys think? A longer wait for a super long chapter, or a speedy, but slightly less planned out update to continue the story? Overall I'm trying to make my chapters longer, since I like reading longer chapters myself, and making you guys wait so long for so little seems plain unfair to me.

Until next time, Adios!


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